Art Event 4

3/14 - From Moles to Skunks : Stephen Shaskan

Stephen Shaskan’s talk “Moles to Skunks” was jam packed in the dome lecture room. Even though I arrived to the lecture early - the dome that the lecture took place in filled up fast. The space was so packed that stragglers had to stand in the back of the room in order to watch the presentation. Shaskan started his talk by explaining his Design background and many years in education. Stephen Shaskan started his career attending a design school along with our very own Professor Richard Barlow. After graduating and being involved in a band with Professor Barlow, Shaskan started looking for a job to pay the bills and eventually landed a job teaching very young children (Around Pre-K level). His love of picture books was fostered while he taught young children. While working with young children at his first school he met his wife and they connected over their love of rock music and childrens books. After leaving education, Shaskan and his did one-off work for several companies - meaning they got one check and no royalties. This helped pay the bills and get their name out there, so they were content with no royalties. The premiere topic of the talk was Shaskan’s process of creating Punk Skunks. Him and his wife created the book together and wanted to make a story personal to them since they used to play in a band themselves. The original concept was “Kit and Buzz : Rock Star Nosed Moles” - thus the name of the talk (Moles to Skunks) the original concept was pretty cute, both the characters kit and buzz were star nosed moles, a specific breed of moles with 22 little tendrils on their noses to help them while they’re digging. It took place in a New York City - esque environment in which they lived in an underground apartment. The premise was that they disagreed on what to play together as a band. This story drastically changed when The Shaskans found a publishing company and editor who helped guide them to make their book more marketable and steer in a collaborative creative direction that benefits everyone involved. This encouraged me to start trying to experiment with different ideas and bring them to my art advisor, friends, and family to get different thoughts on my work so I can shape it over time to create something truly wonderful - just like Punk Skunks.